News release - Dawson Creek public hearing

Local accountability paramount to north

“The most important issue to the people in the Peace River District is local accountability,” Fred Banham told members of the Citizens’ Assembly on Electoral Reform.  Speaking at a public hearing Thursday night in Dawson Creek, Banham went on to say, “It is important to have representation that understands local issues and concerns.” 

Participants at the hearing made it clear that Northerners want to be represented in Victoria by locally elected, locally accountable MLAs.  Although open to more proportionality in the province’s electoral system, they would not accept reduced local accountability or diminished local representation.  “Northerners like the idea of proportionality, but not if it costs anything in representation,” concluded Assembly chair Jack Blaney.

The themes of political accountability and local representation have dominated all three Citizens’ Assembly hearings in the Peace region. 

The next Citizens’ Assembly public hearings are in Ucluelet, Powell River and Victoria – all on Saturday, May 15.

A full schedule of hearings – as well as information on how to sign up to make a presentation – is on the Assembly’s website at www.citizensassembly.bc.ca.

The Assembly is an independent, representative, non-partisan group of 160 randomly selected British Columbians. They must decide by December 15 whether to propose a change to BC’s electoral system. If they recommend a change, it will be the subject of a referendum for all voters in the May 2005 provincial election.